Injury clarification: Skylar Szynski

Skylar Szynski missed the 2017 season with injury. / Photo by Kimberly Contreras

We previously reported that Oakland Athletics prospect Skylar Szynski had Tommy John surgery to correct an injury to his elbow, but we have received clarification that the surgery Szynski had was a “repair surgery” rather than the full reconstruction.

According to A’s Director of Player Development Keith Lieppman, Szynski is on a conservative rehab path from the procedure, but the A’s hope to have Szynski back by mid-April. That is a much quicker timeframe than Tommy John surgery, which likely would have cost Szynski most, if not all, of the 2018 season.

Szynski was the A’s 2016 fourth-round pick and he received a $1 million bonus to forgo college. The hard-throwing right-hander out of Indiana had an impressive spring training and was on-track to pitch with Low-A Beloit before an elbow injury popped up late in camp. He turned 20 in July.